JP6121807B2 - Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, computer program, and control method - Google Patents

Description

Embodiments of the present invention, based on a plurality of sub-volume data acquired from a three-dimensional region in the subject, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that generates a wide range of fly-through image data, a computer program及 beauty control method.

  The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus radiates an ultrasonic pulse generated from a vibration element incorporated in an ultrasonic probe into the body of a subject, and receives an ultrasonic reflected wave generated by a difference in acoustic impedance of a living tissue by the vibration element. It collects various biological information. Recent ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of electronically controlling the transmission / reception direction and focal point of ultrasonic waves by controlling the delay time of drive signals supplied to a plurality of vibration elements and reception signals obtained from the vibration elements. Therefore, real-time image data can be easily observed with a simple operation by simply bringing the tip of the ultrasonic probe into contact with the body surface, and is therefore widely used for morphological diagnosis and functional diagnosis of living organs. .

  In particular, in recent years, a method for mechanically moving an ultrasonic probe in which a plurality of vibration elements are arranged one-dimensionally or a method using an ultrasonic probe in which a plurality of vibration elements are arranged in a two-dimensional manner is used for a diagnosis target region of a subject. By performing three-dimensional scanning and generating three-dimensional image data and MPR image data using three-dimensional data (volume data) collected by the three-dimensional scanning, further advanced diagnosis and treatment are possible. .

  On the other hand, the observer's viewpoint is virtually set in the luminal organ of the volume data obtained by the three-dimensional scan of the subject, and the inner surface of the luminal organ observed from this viewpoint is virtual endoscopic image data. (Hereinafter referred to as “fly-through image data”) has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  According to the above-described method for generating endoscopic image data based on volume data collected from outside the subject, the degree of invasiveness to the subject at the time of examination is greatly reduced. High-precision inspection that was impossible with conventional endoscopy because the viewpoint and line-of-sight direction can be arbitrarily set even for luminal organs such as thin digestive tracts and blood vessels where it is difficult to insert a scope. Can be performed safely and efficiently.

  When the above fly-through image data is generated using an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, the area where volume data is collected is limited to a limited area centered on the ultrasonic probe. In order to generate, a wide range of volume data by synthesizing a plurality of narrow range volume data (hereinafter referred to as sub-volume data) collected at different positions by moving the ultrasonic probe along the body surface. Is generated, and a wide range of fly-through image data is generated based on the volume data.

JP 2000-185041 A

  Conventionally, when generating fly-through image data using a wide range of sub-volume data obtained by combining multiple sub-volume data, adjacent to the running direction of the luminal organs collected so that their ends overlap There is a method in which an arithmetic process such as a correlation process is performed on a common area of sub-volume data to detect a positional deviation between the sub-volume data, and a positional deviation correction is performed based on the detection result.

  However, in the position shift detection and position shift correction using all image information in such a common area, the average position shift between the sub-volume data is reduced. In such a case, there is a problem that it is difficult to collect fly-through image data having excellent continuity with respect to the lumen wall. .

The present disclosure has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present disclosure is a wide area based on a plurality of sub-volume data adjacent to the traveling direction of a hollow organ collected from a three-dimensional area in the body. at the time of generating a fly-through image data, the sub-volume data between the discontinuous ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of reducing the fly-through image data caused by the misalignment of the computer program及 beauty control method It is to provide.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure provides fly-through image data based on a plurality of sub-volume data collected by performing ultrasonic transmission / reception on a three-dimensional region in a subject. A position shift between the subvolume data based on at least one of information on a lumen wall of the hollow organ or a core line indicating a central axis of the hollow organ in the subvolume data. A position deviation correction means for correcting the position deviation, a fly-through image data generation means for generating the fly-through image data based on the sub-volume data corrected for position deviation, and a display means for displaying the fly-through image data. It is characterized by that.

1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the present embodiment. The block diagram which shows the specific structure of the transmission / reception part and reception signal processing part with which the ultrasound diagnosing device of this embodiment is provided. The figure for demonstrating the relationship between the coordinate system with respect to the ultrasonic probe of this embodiment, and an ultrasonic transmission / reception direction. The figure for demonstrating the specific structure and function of the position shift correction | amendment part with which the ultrasound diagnosing device of this embodiment is provided. The figure for demonstrating the subvolume data adjacent to the core line direction of the hollow organ by which position shift correction | amendment correction was carried out in this embodiment, and the viewpoint which moves along the core line of these subvolume data. The figure which shows the relationship between the viewpoint moving speed set by the viewpoint movement control part of this embodiment, and a viewpoint-border distance. The block diagram which shows the specific structure of the two-dimensional image data generation part with which the ultrasound diagnosing device of this embodiment is provided. The figure for demonstrating the CPR image data produced | generated for the purpose of monitoring of the subvolume data collection condition in this embodiment. The figure which shows the specific example of the display data produced | generated in the display part of this embodiment. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure for generating / displaying fly-through image data according to the present embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment)
In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of this embodiment described below, when generating fly-through image data of a luminal organ based on volume data collected from a three-dimensional region in a subject, an ultrasonic probe is moved. A plurality of subvolume data adjacent in the running direction of the luminal organ is collected, and the luminal wall is extracted and the core line is set for the luminal organ indicated by each subvolume data. Then, the positional deviation between the sub-volume data is corrected based on the obtained core line and lumen wall information, and the viewpoint set for the core line of the sub-volume data after the positional deviation correction is determined as the viewpoint and the sub-volume. Fly-through image data in which discontinuities generated due to the positional deviation of the sub-volume data are reduced by moving in the core direction at a moving speed determined based on the distance from the data boundary surface.

  In the following embodiment, a case in which fly-through image data is generated based on sub-volume data collected using an ultrasonic probe in which a plurality of vibration elements are two-dimensionally arranged will be described. The above fly-through image data may be generated based on sub-volume data collected by mechanically moving or rotating an ultrasonic probe in which elements are arranged one-dimensionally.

(Configuration and function of the device)
The configuration and function of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration of a transmission / reception unit and a received signal processing unit included in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. 4 and 7 are block diagrams showing specific configurations of a positional deviation correction unit and a two-dimensional image generation unit provided in the above-described ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

  The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 emits transmission ultrasonic waves (ultrasonic pulses) to a three-dimensional region of a subject, and reception obtained from the three-dimensional region by the transmission ultrasonic waves. An ultrasonic probe 2 having a plurality of vibration elements that convert ultrasonic waves (ultrasound reflected waves) into electrical reception signals, and a drive for emitting transmission ultrasonic waves in a predetermined direction in the three-dimensional region A signal is supplied to the above-described vibration elements, and a transmission / reception unit 3 that performs phasing addition of reception signals of a plurality of channels obtained from these vibration elements, and B-mode data is generated by performing signal processing on the reception signals after phasing addition Sub-volume data generation for generating narrow-range three-dimensional image information (hereinafter referred to as sub-volume data) based on the received signal processing unit 4 and the above-described B-mode data obtained in units of ultrasonic transmission / reception directions. Part 5; A lumen wall extraction unit 6 that extracts at least one of the outer wall surface and the inner wall surface of the hollow organ included in the subvolume data as a lumen wall, and the subvolume based on the obtained position information of the lumen wall A core line setting unit 7 for setting a central axis (hereinafter referred to as a core line) of the luminal organ in the data, and a sub volume data storage for storing the position information of the core line and the lumen wall in addition to the sub volume data described above. Part 8 is provided.

  Also, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 detects the positional deviation of the subvolume data adjacent to the direction corresponding to the traveling direction of the luminal organ read from the subvolume data storage unit 8 (hereinafter referred to as the coreline direction). A position deviation correction unit 9 that corrects based on the position information of the lumen wall, and a viewpoint-border distance measurement unit that measures the distance between the viewpoint moving on the core line in the direction of the core line and the boundary surface between the sub-volume data 10, a viewpoint movement control unit 11 that controls the movement of the viewpoint on the core line, a fly-through image data generation unit 12 that generates fly-through image data based on the sub-volume data after the positional deviation correction, and sub-volume data 2D image for generating 2D MPR (multi planar reconstruction) image data and CPR (curved multi planar reconstruction) image data Generated using the data generation unit 13, the viewpoint marker generation unit 14 that generates a viewpoint marker for indicating the viewpoint position in the MPR image data, and the above-described fly-through image data and MPR image data to which the viewpoint marker is added. A display unit 15 for displaying display data, a scanning control unit 16 for controlling the ultrasonic transmission / reception direction and the like for the three-dimensional region of the subject, input of subject information, setting of subvolume data generation conditions, fly-through An input unit 17 for setting image data generation conditions, inputting various instruction signals, and the like, and a system control unit 18 for comprehensively controlling the above-described units are provided.

  The ultrasonic probe 2 has N (N = N1 × N2) vibration elements (not shown) arranged two-dimensionally at its tip, and the tip is brought into contact with the body surface of the subject to transmit / receive ultrasonic waves. To do. Each of the vibration elements is connected to the transmission / reception unit 3 via an N-channel multi-core cable (not shown). These vibration elements are electroacoustic transducers that convert drive signals (electrical pulses) into transmission ultrasonic waves (ultrasonic pulses) during transmission, and receive ultrasonic waves (ultrasonic reflected waves) as electrical reception signals during reception. It has the function to convert to. In addition, a position information detection unit 21 that detects the position and direction of the ultrasonic probe 2 is provided inside or around the ultrasonic probe 2.

  The position information detection unit 21 is configured to detect position information (position and position) of the ultrasound probe 2 disposed on the patient body surface based on position signals supplied from a plurality of position sensors (not shown) provided inside the ultrasound probe 2. Direction).

  Various methods have already been proposed as a method for detecting the position information of the ultrasonic probe 2. However, in consideration of detection accuracy, cost, and size, a method using an ultrasonic sensor or a magnetic sensor as the above-described position sensor is preferable. is there. The position information detection unit using the magnetic sensor includes, for example, a transmitter (magnetization generation unit) (not shown) that generates magnetism and a plurality of magnetisms that detect the magnetism as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-5168. A sensor (position sensor) and a position information calculation unit (none of which is shown) for calculating position information of the ultrasonic probe 2 by processing position signals supplied from these magnetic sensors are provided. Then, the position information of the sub-volume data collected using the ultrasonic probe 2 can be obtained from the position information of the ultrasonic probe 2 detected by the position information detection unit 21 described above.

  The ultrasound probe includes sector scan support, linear scan support, convex scan support, and the like, and a medical worker who operates the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 100 (hereinafter referred to as an operator) is a suitable ultrasound probe. Can be arbitrarily selected according to the examination / treatment site, but in the present embodiment, the ultrasonic probe 2 for sector scanning having N vibration elements arranged two-dimensionally at the tip thereof is used. Describe the case.

  Next, the transmission / reception unit 3 illustrated in FIG. 2 includes a transmission unit 31 that supplies a drive signal for radiating transmission ultrasonic waves to a vibration element of the ultrasonic probe 2 in a predetermined direction within the subject, and these vibration elements. The receiving unit 32 for phasing and adding the reception signals of a plurality of channels obtained from the transmission unit 31 includes a rate pulse generator 311, a transmission delay circuit 312, and a driving circuit 313.

  The rate pulse generator 311 generates a rate pulse for determining a repetition period of transmission ultrasonic waves radiated into the body by dividing the reference signal supplied from the system control unit 18, and the obtained rate pulse is generated. This is supplied to the transmission delay circuit 312. The transmission delay circuit 312 is composed of, for example, the same number of independent delay circuits as Nt transmission vibration elements selected from the N vibration elements incorporated in the ultrasonic probe 2, and has a narrow beam width in transmission. The rate pulse generator 311 supplies a focusing delay time for focusing the transmission ultrasonic wave to a predetermined depth and a deflection delay time for radiating the transmission ultrasonic wave in the ultrasonic transmission / reception direction. To the above-described rate pulse. The drive circuit 313 has a function of driving the Nt transmission vibration elements incorporated in the ultrasonic probe 2, and based on the rate pulse supplied from the transmission delay circuit 312, the above-described focusing delay time and deflection use are performed. A driving pulse having a delay time is generated.

  On the other hand, the reception unit 32 includes an Nr channel preamplifier 321, an A / D converter 322, and a reception corresponding to Nr reception vibration elements selected from the N vibration elements incorporated in the ultrasonic probe 2. A delay circuit 323 and an adder 324 are provided. In the B mode, the Nr channel received signal supplied from the receiving vibration element via the preamplifier 321 is converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 322 and received delay circuit 323. Sent to. The reception delay circuit 323 performs A / D conversion on a focusing delay time for focusing a reception ultrasonic wave from a predetermined depth and a deflection delay time for setting a strong reception directivity in the ultrasonic transmission / reception direction. The adder 324 adds and synthesizes the Nr channel reception signals output from the reception delay circuit 323. That is, the reception delay circuit 323 and the adder 324 perform phasing addition on the reception signal corresponding to the reception ultrasonic wave from the ultrasonic transmission / reception direction.

  FIG. 3 shows ultrasonic transmission / reception directions (θp, φq) with respect to an orthogonal coordinate system (xyz) having the central axis of the ultrasonic probe 2 as the z axis. Two-dimensionally arranged in the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction, and θp and φq indicate transmission / reception directions projected on the xz plane and the yz plane.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the received signal processing unit 4 includes an envelope detector 41 that performs envelope detection on each of the received signals output from the adder 324 of the receiving unit 32, and a received signal after envelope detection. Is provided with a logarithmic converter 42 that generates B-mode data by relatively emphasizing a small signal amplitude.

  Next, the sub-volume data generation unit 5 of FIG. 1 includes a B-mode data storage unit and an interpolation processing unit (not shown). The B-mode data storage unit includes, for example, an ultrasonic probe 2 at a predetermined position on the surface of the subject body. In the transmission / reception direction (θp, φq) in which the B-mode data in the relatively narrow range generated by the reception signal processing unit 4 based on the reception signal collected in the state of being arranged in the above is supplied from the system control unit 18 Information is sequentially stored as incidental information.

  On the other hand, the interpolation processing unit generates three-dimensional ultrasound data (three-dimensional B-mode data) by arranging the B-mode data read from the B-mode data storage unit 51 in correspondence with the transmission / reception directions (θp, φq). Then, interpolation processing or the like is performed on the obtained three-dimensional ultrasound data to generate subvolume data (B mode subvolume data).

  Next, the luminal wall extraction unit 6 determines the subvolume data in the luminal organ based on the spatial change amount of the voxel value included in the subvolume data supplied from the interpolation processing unit of the subvolume data generation unit 5. The inner wall or the outer wall is extracted as the lumen wall. For example, three-dimensional differentiation / integration processing is performed on the voxel values of the sub-volume data, and subtraction processing between the sub-volume data subjected to the differentiation processing and the sub-volume data subjected to the integration processing, or the sub-volume before the differentiation processing. Although it becomes possible to extract the lumen wall of the luminal organ by a subtraction process between the data and the sub-volume data after the differentiation process, the extraction method of the lumen wall is not limited to the above-described method.

  On the other hand, the core line setting unit 7 has a function of setting a core line with respect to the lumen wall of the luminal organ extracted by the lumen wall extraction unit 6 described above. For example, the core line setting unit 7 is set in advance inside the lumen wall. A plurality of unit vectors are generated in all three-dimensional directions using the starting point as a reference, and a unit vector in a direction in which the distance from the unit vector to the lumen wall is maximized is selected as a search vector. Next, a centroid position of a luminal organ cross section orthogonal to the search vector is calculated, and a search vector whose direction is corrected so that an intersection position of the search vector and the luminal organ cross section coincides with the centroid position is obtained. A new setting is made at the position of the center of gravity. Then, the above procedure is repeated using the corrected search vector, and at this time, the core line of the luminal organ is set by connecting a plurality of barycentric positions formed in the traveling direction of the luminal organ. However, the setting of the core wire for the luminal organ is not limited to the above-described method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-10715, for example, other methods described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-283373, etc. The method may be applied.

  Each of the sub-volume data generated by the sub-volume data generation unit 5 includes the lumen wall position information extracted by the lumen wall extraction unit 6 and the core line position information set by the core line setting unit 7. The position information of the ultrasonic probe 2 supplied from the position information detection unit 21 of the ultrasonic probe 2 via the system control unit 18 is stored in the sub-volume data storage unit 8 as supplementary information.

  As described above, the position information of the ultrasonic probe 2 supplied from the position information detection unit 21 and the position information of the subvolume data generated by the subvolume data generation unit 5 correspond to each other. By synthesizing the sub-volume data in a three-dimensional space based on the position information of 2, it is possible to obtain volume data in a wide range of three-dimensional regions in the subject.

  Next, the positional deviation correction unit 9 includes a linear positional deviation correction unit 91 and a non-linear positional deviation correction unit 92 as shown in FIG. 4, and the linear positional deviation correction unit 91 includes a positional deviation detector 911 and a positional deviation correction unit. In addition, the non-linear position deviation correction unit 92 includes a position deviation detector 921 and a position deviation corrector 922.

  The positional deviation detector 911 of the linear positional deviation correction unit 91 is generated based on the received signal collected while moving the ultrasonic probe 2 along the body surface of the subject, and is stored in the sub-volume data storage unit 8 described above. Further, two subvolume data (for example, subvolume data SV1 and subvolume data SV2 shown in the lower left area of FIG. 4) adjacent to the luminal organ from the plurality of subvolume data at different imaging positions, and these The position information of the core line C1 and the core line C2 added to the sub volume data is read based on the position information of the ultrasonic probe 2 (that is, the position information of the sub volume data).

  However, the sub-volume data collection areas adjacent to each other in the core line direction are set so that their end portions overlap each other under the observation of CPR image data, which will be described later. The collection areas of the sub volume data SV1 and the sub volume data SV2 are set so that the areas near the front end of the data SV2 overlap within a predetermined range. In the following, the rear end portion vicinity region and the front end portion vicinity region that overlap each other are referred to as a rear end common region and a front end common region.

  The position shift detector 911 then translates or rotates the position information of the core line C2 in the front end common area of the subvolume data SV2 in a predetermined direction, and the position of the core line C1 in the rear end common area of the subvolume data SV1. A cross-correlation coefficient with the information is calculated, and a position shift of the sub-volume data SV2 with respect to the sub-volume data SV1 is detected based on the obtained cross-correlation coefficient. Next, the position shift corrector 912 of the linear position shift correction unit 91 performs linear position shift correction on the sub-volume data SV2 based on the detected position shift (that is, position shift correction by translation or rotation of the volume data SV2). As a result, sub-volume data SV2x is generated.

  On the other hand, the position shift detector 921 of the non-linear position shift correction unit 92 includes the position information of the lumen wall and the linear position shift correction unit in the rear end common area of the sub-volume data SV1 read from the sub-volume data storage unit 8. As a result of cross-correlation processing with the position information of the lumen wall in the front end common area of the sub-volume data SV2x after the linear position deviation correction obtained in 91, the local position deviation of the sub-volume data SV2x with respect to the sub-volume data SV1 ( (Distortion) is detected. Next, the positional deviation corrector 922 of the nonlinear positional deviation correction unit 92 corrects the positional deviation (distortion) of the sub-volume data SV2x in the vicinity of the lumen wall based on the detected local positional deviation (that is, nonlinear positional deviation correction (ie, Sub-volume data SV2y is generated by performing position shift correction by enlargement / reduction processing of volume data SV2x.

  When the linear positional deviation correction and the non-linear positional deviation correction for the subvolume data SV2 are completed, the positional deviation detector 911 of the linear positional deviation correction unit 91 performs the subvolume read from the subvolume data storage unit 8 by the same procedure. The position shift of the subvolume data SV3 adjacent to the data SV2 with respect to the subvolume data SV2y is detected, and the position shift corrector 912 corrects the subvolume data SV3 linearly based on the detected position shift, thereby subvolume. Data SV3x is generated.

  Next, the positional deviation detector 921 of the nonlinear positional deviation correction unit 92 detects a local positional deviation (distortion) of the sub-volume data SV3x with respect to the sub-volume data SV2y after the positional deviation correction, and the positional deviation corrector 922 Based on the detected local positional deviation, the subvolume data SV3y is generated by performing nonlinear positional deviation correction on the positional deviation (distortion) of the subvolume data SV3x.

  Further, linear position deviation correction and nonlinear position deviation correction are performed on sub volume data SV4, SV5, SV6... (Not shown) adjacent to the sub volume data SV3 by the same procedure, and the sub volume data SV1 and position deviation are corrected. The corrected sub-volume data SV2y, SV3y, SV4y,... Are sequentially supplied to the fly-through image data generation unit 12.

  Note that a specific method for correcting the non-linear positional deviation is described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-024763, and the detailed description thereof is omitted. In FIG. 4, for the sake of easy understanding, the positional deviation correction using the sub-volume data SV1 and the sub-volume data SV2 and the positional deviation correction using the sub-volume data SV2 and the sub-volume data SV3 are independent. Although explained using the unit, the positional deviation correction of the sub-volume data SV2, SV3, SV4... With the sub-volume data SV1 as a reference usually includes the linear positional deviation correcting section 91 and the nonlinear positional deviation correcting section 92. This is performed by repeatedly using the positional deviation correction unit 9.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the viewpoint-to-boundary distance measuring unit 10 measures the distance from the viewpoint that moves in the direction of the core along the core line of the sub-volume data to the boundary surface (front end and rear end) of the sub-volume data. It has a function to do. FIG. 5 shows the initial setting of the sub-volume data SV1, the sub-volume data SV2y and SV3y after position shift correction adjacent to the sub-volume data SV1 with respect to the core direction, and the front end R1f of the sub-volume data SV1. A viewpoint Wx that moves along the core line direction at a predetermined speed is shown, and the sub-volume data SV1, SV2y, and SV3y are set by the core line setting unit 7 and the core lines C1 to C1 corrected by the position shift correction unit 9 are corrected. C3.

  Then, the viewpoint-boundary distance measuring unit 10 described above, for example, from the front end R2f of the subvolume data SV2y (the boundary surface between the subvolume data SV1 and the subvolume data SV2y) to the rear end R2b (subvolume data SV2y and The distance df from the viewpoint W1 to the front end portion R2f and the distance db to the rear end portion R2b moving to the boundary surface with the subvolume data SV3y is measured as the viewpoint-to-boundary distance.

  Further, when the movement of the viewpoint Wx in the direction of the core line is continuously performed, the same applies to each of the subvolume data SV3y adjacent to the subvolume data SV2y and the subvolume data SV4y, SV5y,. The viewpoint-to-boundary distance is measured according to the procedure.

  Returning to FIG. 1 again, the viewpoint movement control unit 11 has a movement speed table (not shown) that shows a relationship between a preset viewpoint-boundary distance and a viewpoint movement speed by a lookup table or the like. Then, a viewpoint-border distance dx showing a small value is selected from the viewpoint-border distances df and db supplied from the viewpoint-border distance measurement unit 10 (for example, df <db if df <db). The viewpoint arranged on the core line of the subvolume data is moved in the direction of the core line according to the movement speed Vx corresponding to the viewpoint-boundary distance dx extracted from the movement speed table.

  FIG. 6 schematically shows the relationship between the viewpoint-boundary distance dx and the viewpoint movement speed Vx shown in the movement speed table. As shown in FIG. 6, the viewpoint movement speed Vx is the viewpoint Wx. Is at the central portion (dx = dmax / 2) of the sub-volume data, the maximum velocity Vmax is present, and when it is present at the front end portion or the rear end portion (dx = 0), the minimum velocity Vmin is obtained.

  The viewpoint movement control unit 11 includes a viewpoint position information calculation unit (not shown) that calculates position information of a viewpoint that moves on the core line, and a line-of-sight direction calculation unit that calculates a line-of-sight direction based on the position information. The calculated position information of the viewpoint and the line-of-sight direction is supplied to a fly-through image data generation unit 12, a two-dimensional image data generation unit 13, and a viewpoint marker generation unit 14, which will be described later.

  Next, the fly-through image data generation unit 12 includes an arithmetic processing unit and a program storage unit (not shown), and an arithmetic processing program for generating fly-through image data using sub-volume data is stored in the program storage unit in advance. It is stored. Then, the arithmetic processing unit, based on the arithmetic processing program read from the program storage unit and the position information in the viewpoint and line-of-sight direction supplied from the viewpoint movement control unit 11, the position shift supplied from the position shift correction unit 9. Fly-through image data is generated by rendering the corrected sub-volume data.

  In addition, when the branch of the luminal organ is recognized in the fly-through image data generated in the fly-through image data generation unit 12 and displayed on the display unit 15, selection of the core line direction for continuously moving the viewpoint is performed by the input unit 17 The input device is used. Then, linear position deviation correction and nonlinear position deviation correction are performed on the sub-volume data adjacent in the core line direction selected at this time.

  On the other hand, the two-dimensional image data generation unit 13 includes an MPR cross-section forming unit 133 and a voxel extraction unit 134 as shown in FIG. 7, for example, MPR displayed on the display unit 15 together with fly-through image data as reference data. It has an MPR image data generation unit 131 that generates image data, a CPR cross-section formation unit 135, a voxel extraction unit 136, and a data synthesis unit 137, and sub-volume data is collected for the luminal organ of the subject without excess or deficiency. A CPR image data generation unit 132 that generates a wide range of CPR image data for monitoring whether or not the image is present.

  The MPR cross-section forming unit 133 of the MPR image data generation unit 131 selects a viewpoint that moves in the skeleton direction on the skeleton of the subvolume data based on the viewpoint position information supplied from the viewpoint position information calculation unit of the viewpoint movement control unit 11. 3 MPR (multi-planar reconstruction) cross sections (eg, a first MPR cross section parallel to the xz plane in FIG. 3, a second MPR cross section parallel to the yz plane, and an xy plane) Parallel third MPR cross section). Then, the voxel extraction unit 134 sets the above-described MPR sections in the subvolume data after the positional deviation correction supplied from the positional deviation correction unit 9, and extracts the voxels of the subvolume data existing in these MPR sections. To generate first MPR image data to third MPR image data.

  On the other hand, the CPR cross-section forming unit 135 of the CPR image data generating unit 132 receives the position information of the core wire set by the core wire setting unit 7 based on the sub-volume data obtained by placing the ultrasonic probe 2 at a predetermined position. Then, a curved CPR (curved multi planar reconstruction) section including the core wire is formed. Next, the voxel extraction unit 136 sets the CPR cross section formed by the CPR cross section forming unit 135 to the above-described sub volume data supplied from the sub volume data generation unit 5, and sets the voxels of the sub volume data existing in the CPR cross section. For example, narrow-range CPR image data is generated by projecting onto a plane parallel to the xy plane of FIG.

  Then, the data synthesizer 137 adds a plurality of narrow-range CPR image data obtained by arranging the ultrasound probe 2 at different positions on the surface of the subject body to each of the sub-volume data. A wide range of CPR image data is generated by synthesizing based on the position information of 2 (that is, position information of sub-volume data).

  FIG. 8 shows a wide range of CPR image data Da generated by the CPR image data generation unit 132. The CPR image data Da is a three-dimensional coordinate on the surface of the subject body with the center of the ultrasonic probe 2 as a center. Narrow range based on sub-volume data obtained by arranging at (x1, y1, z1), (x2, y2, z2), (x3, y3, z3), (x4, y4, z4),. Obtained by sequentially synthesizing CPR image data Db1, Db2, Db3, Db4,.

  For example, the data synthesizing unit 137 of the CPR image data generating unit 132 generates the narrow-range CPR image data Db4 of the three-dimensional region S4 newly collected by the movement of the ultrasonic probe 2 to the adjacent region, as the three-dimensional regions S1 to S3. A wide range of CPR image data Da is generated by adding to the narrow-range CPR image data Db1 to Db3 already collected in step S2. Then, the operator adjusts the position (acquisition position of subvolume data) of the ultrasonic probe 2 with respect to the subject under observation of the CPR image data Da, so that the subvolume continuous to the luminal organ is obtained. Data can be collected. In this case, the region near the rear end of the sub-volume data is adjacent to the core line direction in consideration of the above-described linear position shift correction based on the position information of the core line and nonlinear position shift correction based on the position information of the lumen wall. The position of the ultrasonic probe 2 is adjusted so as to overlap with the vicinity of the front end portion of the sub-volume data within a predetermined range.

  In addition, when the newly generated narrow-range CPR image data is sequentially combined with the already generated narrow-range CPR image data and displayed on the display unit 15, in order to determine a suitable arrangement position of the ultrasonic probe 2. It is desirable to identify and display the latest narrow-range CPR image data (for example, CPR image data Db4 in FIG. 8) and other CPR image data using different color tones, brightness, and the like.

  Next, the viewpoint marker generation unit 14 in FIG. 1 has a function of generating a viewpoint marker added to the MPR image data generated by the MPR image data generation unit 131 of the two-dimensional image data generation unit 13, and performs viewpoint movement control. A viewpoint marker having a predetermined shape (for example, an arrow) is generated using the position information in the viewpoint and line-of-sight direction supplied from the unit 11 as supplementary information. Note that the shape of the viewpoint marker is normally set in advance for each apparatus, but can be initially set in the input unit 17.

  On the other hand, the display unit 15 generates a wide range of CPR image data generated by the CPR image data generation unit 132 of the two-dimensional image data generation unit 13 and the fly-through image data generation unit 12 for the purpose of monitoring the sub-volume data collection status. It has a function of displaying the MPR image data generated by the MPR image data generation unit 131 of the two-dimensional image data generation unit 13 as the fly-through image data and the auxiliary data of the fly-through image data. And a monitor.

  The display data generation unit converts a wide range of CPR image data (see FIG. 8) supplied from the CPR image data generation unit 132 into a predetermined display format to generate first display data. The data conversion unit The display data is subjected to conversion processing such as D / A conversion and television format conversion and displayed on the monitor.

  The display data generation unit synthesizes the fly-through image data supplied from the fly-through image data generation unit 12 and the MPR image data supplied from the MPR image data generation unit 131 and then converts them into a predetermined display format. The second display data is generated by adding the viewpoint marker generated in the viewpoint marker generation unit 14 to the above-described MPR image data. Then, the data conversion unit performs conversion processing such as D / A conversion and television format conversion on the display data described above and displays it on the monitor. When linear position deviation correction or nonlinear position deviation correction is performed by the position deviation correction unit 9 at the boundary of the sub-volume data, a word or symbol indicating that is added to the second display data. It is also possible to display on the monitor.

  FIG. 9 shows a specific example of the second display data generated by the above-described display data generation unit. In the upper left area, the upper right area, and the lower left area of the second display data, MPR image data generation is performed. The first MPR image data Dm1 to the third MPR image data Dm3 in three MPR cross sections that include the viewpoint generated by the unit 131 and are orthogonal to each other are shown. The MPR image data includes sub-volumes adjacent to the viewpoint markers Mk1 to Mk3 generated by the viewpoint marker generation unit 14 based on the position information of the viewpoint and the line-of-sight direction supplied from the viewpoint movement control unit 11 in the core line direction. Boundary lines Ct1 to Ct3 indicating data boundaries are added. On the other hand, in the lower right area of the second display data, fly-through image data generated by the fly-through image data generation unit 12 is shown, and this fly-through image data includes a boundary line Ct4 indicating the boundary of the sub-volume data. Is added.

  The MPR image data displayed together with the fly-through image data may be generated based on one sub-volume data in which a viewpoint exists, but as shown in FIG. A plurality of MPR image data generated based on the sub-volume data may be synthesized. In this case, by adding a boundary line indicating the boundary of the sub-volume data to the MPR image data and the fly-through image data, it is possible to accurately grasp the positional relationship between the viewpoint moving in the core line direction and the boundary area of the sub-volume data. Is possible. In addition, when the viewpoint-boundary distance supplied from the viewpoint-boundary distance measuring unit 10 becomes shorter than a predetermined value, that is, when the viewpoint approaches the boundary of the sub-volume data, The fly-through image data and the line-of-sight marker may be displayed using different tone and brightness.

  Next, the scanning control unit 16 performs delay time control for performing three-dimensional ultrasonic scanning for the purpose of collecting subvolume data in a three-dimensional region in the subject, the transmission delay circuit 312 of the transmission unit 31, and the reception unit. This is performed for 32 reception delay circuits 323. On the other hand, the input unit 17 includes input devices such as a display panel, a keyboard, a trackball, a mouse, a selection button, and an input button on the operation panel. The input unit 17 inputs subject information, sets subvolume data generation conditions, and MPR image data. Generation conditions / CPR image data generation conditions / fly-through image data generation conditions are set, image data display conditions are set, branches are selected in fly-through image data, and various instruction signals are input.

  The system control unit 18 includes a CPU and an input information storage unit (not shown), and the above-described various information input or set in the input unit 17 is stored in the input information storage unit. On the other hand, the CPU collects sub-volume data for the three-dimensional region of the subject, controls the core information of the sub-volume data, The positional deviation correction based on the lumen wall information and the generation of fly-through image data based on the sub-volume data subjected to the positional deviation correction are executed.

(Fly-through image data generation / display procedure)
Next, fly-through image data generation / display procedures in the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Prior to the collection of sub-volume data for the subject, the operator of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 100 inputs subject information at the input unit 17 and then generates sub-volume data generation conditions / MPR image data generation conditions / CPR image data generation. Set conditions / fly-through image data generation conditions and the like. And the above-mentioned input information and setting information in the input part 17 are preserve | saved at the input information storage part with which the system control part 18 is provided (step S1 of FIG. 10).

  When the above-described initial setting for the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 is completed, the operator places the sub-volume in a state where the central portion of the ultrasonic probe 2 is disposed at the position on the body surface corresponding to the three-dimensional region S1 in the subject. A data collection start instruction signal is input at the input unit 17, and the instruction signal is supplied to the system control unit 18, whereby collection of sub-volume data for the three-dimensional region S1 is started (step S2 in FIG. 10).

  At this time, the position information detection unit 21 of the ultrasonic probe 2 has the ultrasonic probe 2 corresponding to the three-dimensional region S1 based on position signals supplied from a plurality of position sensors provided inside the ultrasonic probe 2. Position information (position and direction) is detected (step S3 in FIG. 10).

  When collecting the sub-volume data, the rate pulse generator 311 of the transmission unit 31 supplies the rate pulse generated according to the control signal of the system control unit 18 to the transmission delay circuit 312. The transmission delay circuit 312 has a delay time for focusing the ultrasonic wave to a predetermined depth and a delay time for transmitting the ultrasonic wave in the first transmission / reception direction (θ1, φ1) in order to obtain a narrow beam width in transmission. The rate pulse is supplied to the Nt channel drive circuit 313. Next, the drive circuit 313 generates a drive signal having a predetermined delay time and shape based on the rate pulse supplied from the transmission delay circuit 312, and this drive signal is Nt two-dimensionally arranged in the ultrasonic probe 2. The ultrasonic waves are transmitted to the transmitting vibration elements and radiated to the body of the subject.

  A part of the radiated transmission ultrasonic wave is reflected by an organ boundary surface or tissue having different acoustic impedance, received by the receiving vibration element, and converted into an electrical reception signal of Nr channel. Next, the received signal is gain-corrected by the preamplifier 321 of the receiving unit 32 and converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 322, and then received ultrasonic waves from a predetermined depth are received by the N-channel receiving delay circuit 323. A delay time for convergence and a delay time for setting a strong reception directivity with respect to the reception ultrasonic wave from the transmission / reception direction (θ1, φ1) are given, and the adder 324 performs phasing addition.

  On the other hand, the envelope detector 41 and the logarithmic converter 42 of the received signal processing unit 4 to which the received signal after phasing addition is supplied perform envelope detection and logarithmic conversion on the received signal to obtain B-mode data. The generated B-mode data is stored in the B-mode data storage unit of the sub-volume data generation unit 5 with the transmission / reception direction (θ1, φ1) information as supplementary information.

  When the generation and storage of B-mode data for the transmission / reception direction (θ1, φ1) is completed, φq = φ1 + (q−1) Δφ (q = 2 to Q) in which the ultrasonic transmission / reception direction is updated by Δφ in the φ direction. ), Ultrasonic transmission / reception is performed with respect to the transmission / reception direction (θ1, φ2 to φQ) set, and the transmission / reception direction is updated by Δθ in the θ direction by θp = θ1 + (p−1) Δθ (p = 2 to Three-dimensional scanning is performed by repeating the above-described ultrasonic transmission / reception of φ1 to φQ for each of the transmission / reception directions θ2 to θP set by P). The B-mode data obtained by the ultrasonic transmission / reception is also stored in the B-mode data storage unit with the above transmission / reception direction as supplementary information.

  On the other hand, the interpolation processing unit of the sub-volume data generation unit 5 generates the three-dimensional B-mode data by arranging the B-mode data read from the ultrasonic data storage unit in correspondence with the transmission / reception directions (θp, φq), Further, the obtained three-dimensional B-mode data is interpolated to generate subvolume data SV1 (step S4 in FIG. 10).

  Next, the lumen wall extraction unit 6 includes the lumen included in the subvolume data SV1 based on the spatial change amount of the voxel value of the subvolume data SV1 supplied from the interpolation processing unit of the subvolume data generation unit 5. The inner wall or the outer wall of the organ is extracted as the lumen wall, and the core line setting unit 7 sets the core line of the lumen organ based on the position information of the lumen wall extracted by the lumen wall extraction unit 6 (FIG. 10). Step S5).

  The sub-volume data SV1 of the three-dimensional region S1 generated by the sub-volume data generation unit 5 is the position information of the lumen wall extracted by the lumen wall extraction unit 6 and the core line set by the core line setting unit 7. The position information and the position information of the ultrasonic probe 2 supplied from the position information detection unit 21 of the ultrasonic probe 2 via the system control unit 18 are stored in the subvolume data storage unit 8 as supplementary information (step of FIG. 10). S6).

  On the other hand, the CPR cross-section forming unit 135 included in the CPR image data generation unit 132 of the two-dimensional image data generation unit 13 includes the core line set by the core line setting unit 7 based on the subvolume data SV1 obtained in the three-dimensional region S1. A curved CPR cross section is formed. Then, the voxel extraction unit 136 sets the above-described CPR section in the subvolume data SV1 supplied from the subvolume data generation unit 5, and projects the voxel of the subvolume data SV1 existing in the CPR section onto a predetermined projection plane. As a result, narrow-range CPR image data Db1 is generated. Then, the obtained CPR image data is displayed on the monitor of the display unit 15 (step S7 in FIG. 10).

  When the generation and storage of the sub-volume data SV1 with respect to the three-dimensional region S1 and the generation and display of the CPR image data Db1 are completed, the operator refers to the CPR image data displayed on the display unit 15 and adjoins the core line direction. The ultrasonic probe 2 is arranged at a position corresponding to the three-dimensional region S2 to be performed, and the above-described steps S3 to S7 are repeated to collect the sub-volume data SV2 and generate the CPR image data Db2 for the three-dimensional region 2. The CPR image data Db2 obtained at this time is combined with the already obtained CPR image data Db1 and displayed on the display unit 15.

  Thereafter, by repeating the same procedure, the arrangement of the ultrasound probe 2 based on the CPR image data (that is, the setting of the three-dimensional regions S3 to SN) until the collection of the sub-volume data in the predetermined range of the three-dimensional region is completed. Generation of sub-volume data SV3 to SVN in the three-dimensional regions S3 to SN, extraction of the lumen wall and setting of the core line in the sub-volume data SV3 to SVN, and sub-volume data using the position information of the lumen wall and the core line as supplementary information SV3 to SVN are stored, and CPR image data Db3 to DbN are generated and combined and displayed in the three-dimensional regions S3 to SN (steps S2 to S7 in FIG. 10).

  When the generation and storage of the sub-volume data SV1 to SVN necessary for generating fly-through image data for a predetermined range of luminal organs is completed, the viewpoint-boundary distance measuring unit 10 reads the position from the sub-volume data storage unit 8. A viewpoint is set to the core line at the front end of the sub-volume data SV1 supplied via the deviation correction unit 9, and the distance between this viewpoint and the rear end of the sub-volume data SV1 is measured as the viewpoint-boundary distance. Then, the viewpoint movement control unit 11 extracts a movement speed corresponding to the measurement result of the viewpoint-border distance supplied from the viewpoint-border distance measurement unit 10 from its own movement speed table, and follows this movement speed. The above-described viewpoint set at the front end of the sub-volume data SV1 is moved in the direction of the core line (step S8 in FIG. 10).

  Next, the arithmetic processing unit of the fly-through image data generation unit 12 stores the sub-volume data based on the arithmetic processing program read from its own program storage unit and the position information in the viewpoint and line-of-sight direction supplied from the viewpoint movement control unit 11. Fly-through image data is generated by rendering the sub-volume data SV1 supplied from the unit 8 via the positional deviation correction unit 9 (step S9 in FIG. 10).

  On the other hand, the MPR cross section forming unit 133 of the MPR image data generation unit 131 includes the viewpoints that move in the direction of the core line of the sub-volume data SV1 based on the viewpoint position information supplied from the viewpoint movement control unit 11, and is orthogonal to each other. Three MPR cross sections are formed. Then, the voxel extraction unit 134 sets the above-described MPR cross sections in the sub volume data SV1 supplied from the sub volume data storage unit 8 via the positional deviation correction unit 9, and sub volume data SV1 existing in these MPR cross sections. The first to third MPR image data are generated by extracting the voxels (step S10 in FIG. 10). Further, the viewpoint marker generation unit 14 generates a viewpoint marker having a predetermined shape using the position information supplied from the viewpoint movement control unit 11 in the viewpoint and the line-of-sight direction as supplementary information (step S11 in FIG. 10).

  Next, the display data generation unit of the display unit 15 combines the fly-through image data supplied from the fly-through image data generation unit 12 and the MPR image data supplied from the MPR image data generation unit 131 and then a predetermined display format. Further, display data is generated by adding the viewpoint marker generated by the viewpoint marker generation unit 14 to the MPR image data described above. Then, the data conversion unit performs conversion processing such as D / A conversion and television format conversion on the display data described above and displays it on the monitor.

  However, when a branch of the luminal organ is recognized in the fly-through image data of the display data displayed on the display unit 15, the operator inputs the core direction in which the viewpoint is continuously moved, for example, the input of the input unit 17. Selection is performed using a device (step S12 in FIG. 10).

  Then, the above steps S8 to S12 are repeated until the viewpoint moving in the core line direction reaches the rear end of the sub-volume data SV1. However, the moving speed of the viewpoint becomes lower as the distance between the viewpoint and the front end portion or rear end portion of the sub-volume data SV1 is shorter based on a preset speed table.

  If the viewpoint moving in the direction of the core line on the core line reaches the rear end portion of the sub-volume data SV1, the position shift detector 911 provided in the linear position shift correction unit 91 of the position shift correction unit 9 includes the core line and the lumen wall. The subvolume data SV2 adjacent to the subvolume data SV1 among the various subvolume data stored in the subvolume data storage unit 8 with the position information of the subvolume data as supplementary information is based on the position information of the subvolume data. read out. Next, a cross-correlation coefficient with the core line position information of the sub volume data SV1 is calculated while the core line position information of the sub volume data SV2 is translated or rotated in a predetermined direction, and the sub volume data is calculated based on the cross correlation coefficient. A positional shift of the sub-volume data SV2 with respect to SV1 is detected. Then, the position shift corrector 912 of the linear position shift correction unit 91 generates sub-volume data SV2x by correcting the position shift of the sub-volume data SV2 based on the detected position shift (FIG. 10). Step S13).

  Further, the positional deviation detector 921 included in the nonlinear positional deviation correction unit 92 of the positional deviation correction unit 9 includes the lumen wall position information and the linear positional deviation correction unit in the subvolume data SV1 read from the subvolume data storage unit 8. The local positional deviation (distortion) of the subvolume data SV2x with respect to the subvolume data SV1 is detected by the cross-correlation process with the lumen wall position information in the subvolume data SV2x after the linear positional deviation correction obtained in 91. Then, the position shift corrector 922 of the nonlinear position shift correction unit 92 performs nonlinear position shift correction on the position shift (distortion) of the sub-volume data SV2x in the vicinity of the lumen wall based on the detected local position shift. Sub-volume data SV2y is generated (step S14 in FIG. 10).

  Next, if the viewpoint that has reached the region near the rear end portion of the sub-volume data SV1 is moved to the core line in the region near the front end portion of the sub-volume data SV2y that has been subjected to linear position shift correction and nonlinear position shift correction (step of FIG. 10). S8) By repeating the above steps S9 to S12, generation of fly-through image data and MPR image data based on the viewpoint moving in the skeleton direction along the skeleton of the subvolume data SV2y and generation of the viewpoint marker are performed. Further, display data generated by combining these data is displayed.

  Thereafter, by repeating the same procedure, the linear position deviation correction based on the position information of the core line and the nonlinear position deviation based on the position information of the lumen wall are performed on all the sub-volume data SV3 to SVN generated in the above step S4. Correction is performed to perform positional deviation correction between adjacent sub-volume data, and fly-through image data and MPR image data are generated and displayed using the sub-volume data after the positional deviation correction (Steps S8 to S8 in FIG. 10). S14).

  According to the present embodiment described above, when generating fly-through image data in a wide area based on a plurality of sub-volume data adjacent to the traveling direction of a hollow organ collected from a three-dimensional area in a subject. In addition, it is possible to reduce the discontinuity of the fly-through image data that occurs due to the positional deviation between the sub-volume data.

  In particular, the boundary between the subvolume data is corrected by correcting the positional deviation of the adjacent subvolume data based on the position information of the lumen wall extracted from the subvolume data or the position information of the core line set based on the lumen wall. Therefore, it is possible to accurately correct the positional deviation of the luminal organs, and it is possible to collect fly-through image data having excellent continuity.

  Also, when generating fly-through image data, the moving speed of the viewpoint that moves in the direction of the core line along the core line of the luminal organ is set based on the distance between the viewpoint and the sub-volume data boundary surface (distance between the viewpoint and the boundary). The apparent discontinuity in the fly-through image data displayed on the display unit can be reduced by reducing the moving speed of the viewpoint as the viewpoint-boundary distance is shortened.

  Furthermore, by performing linear position shift correction based on the core line position information of the sub-volume data and nonlinear position shift correction based on the lumen wall position information, highly accurate position shift correction is possible even for complex position shifts. Good fly-through image data can be obtained.

  On the other hand, the above-described subvolumes that are continuous in the direction of travel of the luminal organ are synthesized by synthesizing and displaying narrow-range CPR image data generated based on these subvolume data in parallel with the collection of a plurality of subvolume data. Data can be collected without excess or deficiency.

  In addition, diagnosis is performed by generating display data by synthesizing one or a plurality of MPR image data generated based on the sub-volume data with fly-through image data generated using the sub-volume data after the positional deviation correction. In addition, it is possible to obtain a lot of image information that is effective for the above-mentioned, and in addition, a viewpoint marker indicating the viewpoint position of the fly-through image data and a boundary line indicating the boundary of the sub-volume data are added to the above-described fly-through image data and MPR image data By doing so, it is possible to accurately and easily grasp the positional relationship between the viewpoint and the sub-volume data boundary surface.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this indication has been described, this indication is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and it can change and carry out. For example, the positional deviation correction unit 9 in the above-described embodiment converts the adjacent two subvolume data from the plurality of subvolume data collected from the subject to the position information of the ultrasonic probe 2 (position information of the subvolume data). ), And the linear position deviation correction based on the core line position information and the nonlinear position deviation correction based on the lumen wall position information are performed on these sub-volume data. Prior to the positional deviation correction, the positional deviation correction using the biological tissue information of the sub-volume data, which has been conventionally performed, may be performed. By adding this positional deviation correction, the time required for linear positional deviation correction or nonlinear positional deviation correction can be shortened.

  Further, the case where the nonlinear position deviation correction is performed after the linear position deviation correction has been described. However, the nonlinear position deviation correction may be preceded, or only one of the linear position deviation correction and the nonlinear position deviation correction is performed. You may carry out.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the branch direction of the luminal organ is selected using the fly-through image data has been described. However, the narrow-range or wide-range CPR image data generated by the CPR image data generation unit 132 is used. The above branch direction may be selected.

  Further, the case where CPR image data is generated for the purpose of monitoring whether or not the sub-volume data for the luminal organ of the subject is collected without excess or shortage has been described, but the maximum value projection is performed instead of the CPR image data. Other two-dimensional image data such as image data, minimum value projection image data, or MPR image data may be used. In particular, by generating maximum value projection image data and minimum value projection image data on a projection plane parallel to the xy plane of FIG. 3, it is possible to obtain the same effect as CPR image data.

  On the other hand, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the position shift correction for the adjacent sub-volume data and the generation of the fly-through image data based on the position-corrected sub-volume data are performed substantially in parallel has been described. The position deviation correction may be performed on the data in advance, and the fly-through image data may be generated using a wide range of volume data that has been corrected for the position deviation. According to this method, fly-through image data that is temporally continuous can be obtained even when a large amount of time is required for positional deviation correction.

  Further, the case where the first display data having CPR image data and the second display data having fly-through image data and MPR image data are displayed on the common display unit 15 has been described. Also good. In addition, the sub-volume data generation unit 5 has described the case where the sub-volume data is generated based on the B-mode data supplied from the reception signal processing unit 4, but other ultrasonic waves such as color Doppler data and tissue Doppler data are also described. Sub-volume data may be generated based on the data.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the nonlinear positional deviation correction is performed on the sub-volume data in which the core line is set has been described. However, the core line may be set after the nonlinear positional deviation correction is performed. In such a case, for example, the position shift detector 921 of the nonlinear position shift correction unit 92 detects the position shift of the lumen wall from the position information of the lumen wall of each adjacent sub-volume data. Then, the positional deviation corrector 922 of the nonlinear positional deviation correcting unit 92 corrects the positional deviation of the lumen wall of the adjacent subvolume data by correcting the positional deviation detected by the positional deviation detecting unit 921 by nonlinear positional deviation. To do. Thereafter, the core line setting unit 7 sets a core line for the luminal organ included in the adjacent subvolume data in which the displacement of the lumen wall is corrected.

  Each unit included in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 of the present embodiment can be realized by using, for example, a computer including a CPU, a RAM, a magnetic storage device, an input device, a display device, and the like as hardware. it can. For example, the system control unit 18 that controls each unit of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 can realize various functions by causing a processor such as a CPU mounted on the computer to execute a predetermined control program. In this case, the above-described control program may be installed in advance in the computer, or may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or installed in the computer of the control program distributed via the network. .

  Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and equivalents thereof.

2 ... Ultrasonic probe 21 ... Position information detection unit 3 ... Transmission / reception unit 31 ... Transmission unit 32 ... Reception unit 4 ... Reception signal processing unit 5 ... Subvolume data generation unit 6 ... Lumen wall extraction unit 7 ... Core wire setting unit 8 ... Sub-volume data storage unit 9 ... position shift correction unit 10 ... viewpoint-boundary distance measurement unit 11 ... viewpoint movement control unit 12 ... fly-through image data generation unit 13 ... two-dimensional image data generation unit 14 ... viewpoint marker generation unit 15 ... Display unit 16 ... Scanning control unit 17 ... Input unit 18 ... System control unit 100 ... Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus

Claims (17)

In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that generates fly-through image data based on a plurality of sub-volume data collected by performing ultrasonic transmission / reception on a three-dimensional region in a subject,
A positional deviation correction means for correcting a positional deviation between the sub-volume data based on information on at least one of a lumen wall of the hollow organ in the sub-volume data or a core line indicating a central axis of the hollow organ;
Fly-through image data generating means for generating the fly-through image data based on the sub-volume data corrected for positional deviation;
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: display means for displaying the fly-through image data.   The positional deviation correction means is configured to generate a gap between the sub-volume data based on at least one of the luminal wall information and the core information obtained from each of the sub-volume data adjacent in the traveling direction of the luminal organ. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the positional deviation is corrected.   A positional deviation detecting unit configured to detect a positional deviation of the core wire, wherein the positional deviation correcting unit obtains at least one of the sub-volume data adjacent to the traveling direction of the luminal organ based on the detection result of the positional deviation of the core line; The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the positional deviation is corrected by parallel movement or rotational movement.   A positional deviation detecting means for detecting a local positional deviation of the luminal wall, wherein the positional deviation correcting means is a sub-adjacent to the traveling direction of the luminal organ based on a positional deviation detection result of the luminal wall; The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the local positional deviation is corrected by enlarging / reducing at least one of the volume data.   2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a setting unit configured to set the core line with respect to a luminal organ included in adjacent subvolume data in which a local positional deviation of the lumen wall is corrected by the positional deviation correction unit. Item 5. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to Item 4.   A viewpoint-border distance measuring means for measuring a distance between a viewpoint set inside the hollow organ and moving in the running direction and a boundary between the adjacent sub-volume data as a viewpoint-border distance; and movement of the viewpoint The viewpoint movement control means for controlling a speed is provided, and the viewpoint movement control means controls the movement speed of the viewpoint based on the measurement result of the viewpoint-to-boundary distance. Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment. In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that generates fly-through image data of a luminal organ based on a plurality of sub-volume data collected by performing ultrasonic transmission / reception on a three-dimensional region of a subject,
A viewpoint-border distance that measures a distance between a viewpoint that is set inside the hollow organ in the subvolume data and moves in the traveling direction of the hollow organ and a boundary between the adjacent subvolume data as a viewpoint-border distance. Measuring means;
Viewpoint movement control means for controlling the movement speed of the viewpoint based on the measurement result of the viewpoint-boundary distance;
Fly-through image data generating means for generating the fly-through image data by processing the sub-volume data on the basis of the viewpoint;
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: display means for displaying the fly-through image data.   The said viewpoint movement control means slows down the moving speed of the said viewpoint which moves to the running direction of the said luminal organ with the shortening of the viewpoint-border distance. Ultrasound diagnostic equipment.   MPR image data generating means for generating MPR image data in one or a plurality of MPR slices including the viewpoint set in the sub-volume data, and the display means is the fly-through generated based on the viewpoint. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the image data and the MPR image data are combined and displayed.   The viewpoint marker generating means for generating a viewpoint marker indicating the position of the viewpoint is provided, and the display means displays the viewpoint marker in the MPR image data with the viewpoint marker added thereto. 9. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to 9.   When the viewpoint-to-boundary distance measured by the viewpoint-to-boundary distance measuring unit is shorter than a predetermined value, the display unit is at least one of the viewpoint marker added to the MPR image data or the fly-through image data. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the color is displayed using different color tones and brightness.   The ultrasonic wave according to claim 9, wherein the display unit displays a boundary line indicating a boundary between the adjacent volume data added to at least one of the MPR image data and the fly-through image data. Diagnostic device.   Narrow range CPR image data is generated based on the sub-volume data, and a plurality of the narrow range CPR image data obtained with respect to the traveling direction of the luminal organ is synthesized to generate a wide range of CPR image data. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a CPR image data generation unit, wherein the collection area of the sub-volume data is set based on the wide range of CPR image data. Executable by a computer, a plurality of including computer program instructions for relative three-dimensional region to generate a fly-through image data based on the ultrasonic transmitting and receiving a plurality of sub-volume data acquired by performing in the subject And the plurality of instructions are:
Correcting the positional deviation between the sub-volume data based on at least one information of the lumen wall of the hollow organ in the sub-volume data or the core line indicating the central axis of the hollow organ,
The fly-through image data is generated based on the sub-volume data corrected for positional deviation,
Displaying the fly-through image data;
To execute that the computer, the computer program. Executable by a computer, including a plurality of instructions for generating a fly-through image data of the hollow organ on the basis of a plurality of sub-volume data acquired by performing ultrasound transmission and reception with respect to three-dimensional region of the subject a computer program, said plurality of instructions,
Measure the distance between the viewpoint that is set inside the luminal organ in the subvolume data and moves in the direction of travel of the luminal organ and the boundary between the adjacent subvolume data as the viewpoint-border distance,
Control the moving speed of the viewpoint based on the measurement result of the viewpoint-boundary distance,
Generating the fly-through image data by processing the sub-volume data on the basis of the viewpoint;
Displaying the fly-through image data;
To execute that the computer, the computer program. A control method executed by an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that generates fly-through image data based on a plurality of sub-volume data collected by performing ultrasonic transmission / reception on a three-dimensional region in a subject,
A positional deviation correction step of correcting a positional deviation between the sub-volume data based on information on at least one of a luminal wall of the luminal organ in the sub-volume data or a core line indicating a central axis of the luminal organ;
A fly-through image data generation step for generating the fly-through image data based on the sub-volume data corrected for positional deviation;
A display step of displaying the fly-through image data,
The control method characterized by including. A control method executed by an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that generates fly-through image data of a luminal organ based on a plurality of sub-volume data collected by performing ultrasonic transmission / reception on a three-dimensional region of a subject,
A viewpoint-border distance that measures a distance between a viewpoint that is set inside the hollow organ in the subvolume data and moves in the traveling direction of the hollow organ and a boundary between the adjacent subvolume data as a viewpoint-border distance. Measuring process,
A viewpoint movement control step of controlling the movement speed of the viewpoint based on the measurement result of the viewpoint-boundary distance;
A fly-through image data generating step for generating the fly-through image data by processing the sub-volume data with reference to the viewpoint;
A display step of displaying the fly-through image data,
A control method characterized by including.

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